'Gossip Girl' Series Finale Review: "New York, I Love You, XOXO"

“Gossip Girl” signed off for the final time Monday night after six seasons on The CW. “New York, I Love You, XOXO” brought fans closure that included two weddings, a son, the return of some familiar faces and of course the reveal of the mysterious blogger’s identity. The one and only word I can use to describe the finale is ‘perfect.’ Did it make complete sense? No. Do I care? Nope. I was too busy enjoying the ride to worry about those pesky details.

“Gossip Girl” signed off for the final time Monday night after six seasons on The CW. “New York, I Love You, XOXO” brought fans closure that included two weddings, a son, the return of some familiar faces and of course the reveal of the mysterious blogger’s identity. The one and only word I can use to describe the finale is ‘perfect.’ Did it make complete sense? No. Do I care? Nope. I was too busy enjoying the ride to worry about those pesky details.

The finale picked up where last week’s episode left off with Chuck and Blair on the roof of the hotel after Bart had fallen to his death. They needed to run away without being seen so Blair called trusty Georgina for help and she got them smuggled into the trunk of Chuck’s limo and out of the city. Jack Bass (the best and worst uncle ever) met them at the bed and breakfast they were hiding out in and he had a plan. Since the security cameras were turned off and Blair was the only witness to what happened between Chuck and Bart, they should get married so Blair wouldn’t be forced to testify against him.

Chuck was hesitant because he didn’t want their marriage to happen that was, but Blair reminded him that at least there wasn’t anything boring about it. Chuck pulled the ring from her necklace, told her they could never be boring and then he proposed and it was fantastic. Now I just want to quickly address the haters out there who said they were only getting married because Chuck was in trouble. Hmm, let’s just remember the fact that Blair already had the ring because they were PLANNING to get married. It wasn’t like Chuck popped a gumball machine ring on her finger.

Anyway, Chuck wanted to give Blair a real wedding, but they didn’t have a lot of time. Uncle Jack stepped in again and recruited Georgina (hello, sparkly new pairing) and the two went around gathering friends and family to meet at the MET to iron out the details. How fun was it to see Cyrus, Eleanor, Dorota and Lily conspiring with the gang to pull off the wedding? I smiled through the entire scene.

Now let’s back track for a moment. Remember how Serena was fleeing to LA and Dan slipped his ‘good’ Serena chapter in her bag? She had some questions about; mainly which Dan was the real Dan? The one who claimed to love her or the one who wrote that she was vapid and needy? Dan told Serena the whole truth and it was one of those blink and you missed it moments where he basically revealed that he was Gossip Girl. What? Don’t worry; the revelation gets a longer explanation later.

Some nosy people overheard the wedding plans and since Gossip Girl wasn’t answering their blast, they called the cops to break up the wedding. Dan gave Nate the final chapter of his book to print in the Spectator and save his magazine and Nate passed it off to Sage, who rushed off to publish it for him and was thankfully never seen again. Cyrus attempted to give Chuck and Blair a romantic ceremony, but the police were literally closing in and running toward them so he skipped to the ‘I do’ part and Chuck responded with “3 words, 8 letters,” which resulted in a fangirl frenzy. Blair and Chuck sealed the deal with an amazing kiss and then they were led away by the police while everyone’s phones started buzzing with the Gossip Girl reveal.

In one of my new favorite sequences of television ever, the show flashed to different people finding out about Gossip Girl’s identity. There was Mayor Bloomberg (who thought it was Dorota), fake cousin Charlie, Vanessa, Juliet, Agnes (nicely played CW with “Arrow” costars Katie Cassidy and Willa Holland back to back) and then finally, Kristen Bell appeared onscreen doing her Gossip Girl voice. But then Rachel Bilson (Hi, Zoe!) appeared with her and she wasn’t happy with Kristen because she wasn’t playing the part of Serena well and Rachel really wanted the part of Blair in the movie. Kristen pointed out that she didn’t think Rachel could pull off high school anymore and Rachel made a sad face (hilarious) as Kristen’s phone beeped and she told Rachel that she’d never believe who Gossip Girl was. Rachel was shocked Gossip Girl was real and Kristen just winked at the camera. I have watched this scene approximately 20 times.

Back in New York, the gang reacted to the news. A few more people thought it was Dorota, someone thought it was Rufus, Uncle Jack said his money was on the blonde in London (Jenny), Serena admitted she suspected Eric at one point…it was a wonderful nod to all the popular guesses over the years. Chuck and Blair returned from the police station since there was no evidence to charge either of them and Bart’s death was ruled an accident (which it was). Blair was not happy about being duped by Dan and Serena admitted that she’d felt that way at first too. Dan explained how he’d started the site and people began to give him tips and Jenny had been part of it with him. Like I said, it really didn’t make complete sense, but it didn’t matter. As Chuck and Nate pointed out, everyone ended up where they were supposed to.

After one last commercial break, there was a time jump (I didn’t catch how long or if they even said) and Nate was arriving back in New York on the Spectator’s private jet. He was considering a run for governor (or was it mayor?) and he would have been the youngest in New York history. Next, we got to meet Henry Bass, Chuck and Blair’s adorable mini-me son and seeing him with his happy parents was the best. Lily and William (non-Alec Baldwin) reunited and Rufus was there with Lisa Loeb. But let’s be real; the best flash-forward couple was Jack and Georgina. Can you imagine all their schemes? Eric and Jenny were back as everyone gathered for Dan and Serena’s wedding.

I have loved and hated (mostly hated) this show for the past six seasons and I am so happy that it received such an amazing sendoff. Thanks for the memories, show. XOXO.

About the author

Mandy Treccia

Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that. Follow her on Twitter at @SourceMandy.